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Episode 27, Friday 15 August , 2008

Life's Little Mysteries - Episode 27

Whales and dolphins don’t actually sleep, they probably doze. They are conscious breathers which means they have to actively decide when to breathe. Consequently, in order to breathe, they have to be conscious otherwise they would drown.

It's not uncommon to see dolphins 'logging', that is swimming slowly along the surface, with very little movement. During logging, they are in semi-conscious state where they’re pretty close to unconsciousness, but are aware enough of their surroundings to wake up completely if they need to.

Who invented the bread slicer and when was it? … asks Carol, Norfolk IslandAnswer from Kate Burridge:

That would be Otto Frederick Rohwedder who was born in Iowa and is generally credited with inventing the first automatic bread slicer in 1928. It used to be a massive unit, approximately five feet long and three feet high. Rohwedder's invention was initially scoffed by bakers who felt sliced bread would go stale too quickly.

Eventually, Rohwedder constructed a slicer that also wrapped the bread, effectively solving the problem. Frank Bench from the Chillicothe Baking Company gave Otto his break!